Reliable and UNRELIABLE Sources Can YOU tell the difference??

RELIABLE When researching, you always need to be sure that you are getting your information from reliable sources. Some sources are considered to be “reliable” because they have been written by people who are experts in the field. These are the sources you can

UNRELIABLE On the other hand, some sources, such as Wikipedia, are not reliable because the authors may not have a thorough knowledge or full understanding of a topic. Remember: anyone can post information on the internet, and we need to be CRITICAL READERS in order to determine what to believe!

POSSIBLE Reliable Sources While you still need to read critically, here is a list of the types of sources that are often reliable and would be good places to start research: Books—authored, edited and published Newspapers and magazines Peer reviewed journals Peer reviewed articles PhD or MBA dissertations and research Public library Scholarly articles Isolated studies or academic research Educational institutions and their websites

How will I KNOW if its RELIABLE?? To determine reliability of online sites and organizations, look at the URL’s ending: If the site ends in .edu, it is most likely an educational institution. Be aware, however, of political bias. If the site ends in .gov, it is most likely a reliable government website. These sites usually provide good sources for statistics and objective reports. If the site ends in .org, it is usually a non-profit organization. These sources vary in being good or poor sources of information and you will still need to research their possible agendas and biases, if they exist Online journals and magazines: Reliable journals and magazines should contain a bibliography for every article Lists sources within that bibliography that can be extensive and should include scholarly, and non-Internet sources THINK: do these sources (evidence) support the articles’ focus/main idea? News sources: Every television and print news source has a website Beware! Sometimes their focus is to entertain rather than inform Think of these sources as a stepping stone to more reliable sources

Credible Internet Sources It is easy to contact the owners of the website for more information or to ask questions The site is up to date Information from 1991 is not listed as “recent” There are no errors The site uses proper spelling and grammar The website is appropriate There is no inappropriate language, graphics, or photos

Credible Internet Sources These guidelines are not 100% When in doubt, ask for help from a teacher or librarian If you’re still not sure, DON’T use it Be careful with .com sites All .com sites are trying to sell something, which means they are all biased in some way Sites with lots of advertisements are usually less credible Make sure if used that it is a magazine or newspaper based site.

How will I KNOW if its UNRELIABLE?? The following are unreliable sources because they require confirmation with a reliable source: Wikipedia: although this is a good starting point for finding initial ideas about a topic, some of their information and attached resources may not be reliable Blogs, tweets Personal websites Forums Sites created by organizations that may have political or biased agendas Sites that provide biased information Self-published sources Opinionated articles such as editorials Online sources with an URL that ends in html, which is the basic building blocks of web pages Some online sources with an URL that end in .com are unreliable: Sites of companies that conduct their business over the internet. Some of these sites are unreliable because they have hidden agendas. THINK: are they trying to sell me something? A product? An idea?

Citing Sources With MLA It’s not as hard as it used to be.

Citing Works in Research Papers If you use ANY information from a source in your paper, you must CITE it. Works Cited Page In-Text Citations If you didn’t say it yourself and you don’t cite it, it is plagiarism. Plagiarism can result in: A zero for the assignment A requirement to redo the entire assignment In college, plagiarism may fail you for an entire course In college, plagiarism may result in expulsion, with no tuition refund

Plagiarism Is much easier to spot than it used to be Doesn’t take very long for a teacher to check A teacher can type 10 words of your paper into a search engine, and within seconds, compare it to tens of thousands of other papers that have already been written In high school, many teachers believe that you are guilty until proven innocent of plagiarism Is easy to avoid Citation makers MLA style sheets

How to Cite Sources Citation makers will write your works cited page for you if you have the right information on your sources Books, articles, and websites are all cited differently The more information you have, the better When you find a source that you think you can use, you need to make sure you have several things

Making Citations Your checklist: Author Title Publication company Publication location Publication date Page numbers Date accessed online Editor ENTIRE web address You might not always be able to find all of this information, but get as much as you can.

Citation Maker Go to easybib.org Click on “MLA” Paste the URL of source Fill in additional information for your source. Click “Submit”. Voila!  Your citation is written.

Information for this Power Point provided by Wikipedia. Citations Information for this Power Point provided by Wikipedia. ;) Just Kiddin’ Here’s the REAL Reliable Source: (note that the site is .edu) Austin Peay State University Academic Support Center Writing Lab “Reliable and Unreliable Sources” Oct 29 2012 http://www.apsu.edu/sites/apsu.edu/files/academic-support-center/Reliable_and_Unreliable_Sources.pdf

Today’s objective… Distinguish between primary (i.e., interviews, letters, diaries, newspapers, personal narratives) and secondary (i.e., reference books, periodicals, Internet, biographies) Identify levels of reliability among resources (e.g., eyewitness account, newspaper account, supermarket tabloid account, Internet source).

EXIT TICKET List two reliable resources you could use when researching a famous person involved in the civil rights movement. What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?